(Photo courtesy of fromthebarn.org)
By Ralph Bliquez, Regent
In the Nov. 15 edition of The Beacon, there was an editorial regretting the decision to change the Theology 101 curriculum from a survey of world religions to a focus on "Christian Theology." I respectfully disagree and commend the theology department for the change.
William Wordsworth, a Romantic poet I never liked, once wrote a sonnet beginning, "Nuns fret not at their convent's narrow room." His theme is that a restricted focus can be liberating rather than confining. It's a valuable lesson.
If I had a criticism for today's culture, I would call it superficial, all shallow with no depth. Contemporary technology admits so much information there's little time for digestion. It's all speed dating with no marriage.
Ours is a Western Culture with all its faults but real advantages. It is a culture based on a Judeo-Christian, Greco-Roman heritage. To know how it has come to dominate this world--for better and worse--a student needs to study it thoroughly and understand (i.e. "stand under" know its foundations).
As Alexander Pope (a Neoclassical poet I do like) wrote: "A little learning is a dangerous thing. Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring."
